Cane mill



April 26, 1932. B. P. LUCE CANE MILL Filed Sept. 13, 1928 '5 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 26, 1932. B. P. LUCE 1,855,606

CANE MILL Filed Sept. 13, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 26,1932. f P, LUC 1,855,606

CANE MILL Filed Sept. 13, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet '3 m w k Eatented Apr. 26, 1932 ,B QN LUQ 9F N GEBMAK U A E MILL Application filed September 13, 1928. Serial No. 305,716.

This invention relates to improvements in sugar cane mills, and more especially to sugar cane mills in which the niacerating and juice expressing vopera ttions are carried 3.25 out in a more eiflcient manner than has heretofore been possible.

As is known, the usual cane mill includes one or more pairs of preliminary crushing rolls between which the cane passes in the form of a relatively deep tangled blanket of stalks to be crushed and disintegrated, the crushers being followed by a tandem of three roll mills in which the disintegrated cane is heavily pressed to extract the juicesthere from, the cane mat being treated to various mace'rating agents, after each pressingoperation in order to dissolve the remaining sucrose- It has been found in practice that the cane mat upon passing out. of a three-roll mill expands rapidly and increases in bulk. It is customary to apply macerating fluids to the cane. mat immediately after each pressing operation by the use of sprays,canals, and other devices which depend upon gravity, osmosis, and in the case of pressure nozzles, on force, in order to cause penetrationof the fluids into the cane mat. Ithas been found that the macerating fluids generally do not Y s t n he. novel fea u nd b ati penetrate much below the surface of the blanket or mat of cane or bagasse, owing to the expansion thereof and the rapid occlusion of air, and where hot liquids or water are used the bagasse becomespufl'ed up with hot water or steam. It is, in general, an object of the present invention to bring about a better maceration of the blanket or m at of ba .gasse than has heretofore been possible and to bring themacerating fluid into more in- .timate contact with all of the bagasse particles. Another effect of the expansion and in crease in bulk of the bagasse mat after passing through a three-roll mill is that the bagasse is presented to the next mill in such condition that the mat does not rapidly pass into the bite of the rolls of this mill, with the effect that the latter is oftentimes choked and the grinding speed of ,the'mill tandem as a whole reduced. I

tandem of which two thteer t l milli e Anot-her object'of the invention to pro v de me ns f -prevent ng the ph g 91 y t m s thet ndem nd b' i a u s idi-ion i th ar ii t pea e.

to its presentation to a three-rolf mill sash a th ma W adi y ent r be)??? lfli rolls of the mill.

Still another object of the invention is to bring about more nulnergus pressingslof the a er te b gas an a l h er r li s than heretofore provided in the usualniil l.

A still further object of the invent'on to Pro ide mea s for pe ln i l s la y p g of th EW I'QfiQQfiQidS n l ke y.f m i ju 1 expre s n man these qui s n ally c llect in 1 n .01 of it mo e speqifi a peet th n.- vention relates to an apparatus f o effecting the above results in a tll llllll lg surface wedge rests or floatso ntheblanket of ba-gasse as it passes fromonesmill ofitthe a d t another to fl t with? amass e w len expande es ss t ca s a more thorough penetration of the maceratne flu d an.dto ed ce the-blanke t e te wherein the next .or succeeding null ofgthe ta dem w l .r., ad ly rip the blanketwitli} ou h kin To t s aatlefl ret1dt lle i l s claimed.

i th drawi 7 F is sid l rat c emi a m tandem hav ng a ,ex ta erai aq re- I 2 1 .lW t my 1e1 m i h d h ig- 2 a Pla n r nae m l andem wn i i e av a enla d eat and partly broken away;

.E g- 3 i s iew ,im a t9 i b be anen a ed a1eandi sw i Fig; 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but s win a .m ifi ati and 1 f 1 ,5 is a pla v w o h te m s am in Fiignfl. o

R n in ne t t flam o n wh eb I have illustrated my invention "by showing a pr i 'red embodimen thereof; the L l ence numeral 5 indicates in general a,

erally designated by reference numerals 6 and 7, are shown, it being understood, however, that the number of these three-roll mills is usually in excess of two and varies from mill to mill. The three-roll mills 6 and 7 may be of any usual or preferred type, and as shown herein comprise the housings'8 and 9, in which are mounted top rolls 10 and 11, cane rolls 12 and 13, and bagasse rolls 14 and 15, the several rolls being mounted in usual or suitable bearings which will not be shown or described in detail. 7 7

Between three-roll mill 6 and mill 7 is a conveyor 16, havin side walls 17and 18, extending upwardly from a point ad acent the 'roll 14 of mill 6 to a point above roll 13 of mill 7, conveyor 16 being provided with a carrier 19 of the endless belt type and made up out of a plurality of overlapping slats '20, supported on a plurality of chains 21,

which are received on sprockets 22, 23 and 24. Laterally extending bottom plates 25 and 26 are carried between the side walls 17 and 18 and provide a support for carrier 19 and the cane thereon as the latter passes from mill 6 to mill 7. As is usual, scraper plates 27 and 28 are provided for removing cane adhering to rolls 10 and 14, respectively, scraper plate 28 being provided with a part 29, which extends in the direction of carrier 19, and on which is mounted a plate 30, which is one of the features of this invention, the purpose of which will be pointed out hereinafter.

'Adjacent the mill 6 is a trough 31 for macerating liquids, the latter being directed onto the blanket of cane immediately after the latter passes from. between rolls 10 and 14 'of mill 6.

Except for plate 30, the arrangement described up to this point is substantially that ofthe usual mill and its operation may be brieflv described as follows: A mat of cane 'eithef from a preliminary crusher or another three-roll mill, passes between rolls 10 and 12 of mill 6, thence between rolls 10 and 14,

where it is heavily pressed and considerable of the juices extracted therefrom. The mat is then discharged from between rolls 10 and V 14, over scraper plate 28 and onto belt 19 which conveys the cane to the next three-roll mill, in the particular instance illustrated to mill 7. After being discharged from be-" of cane passes over plate which serves fto'turn or fold the mat over to assist in causing the introduction of the macerating fluids into the interior of the mat; It will be understood that the cane mat rapidly expands upon being released from the pressure of rolls 10 and 14, and in the usual mill occludes considerable air, resulting in a fluffy mass in which the surface is heavily charged with the macerating fluids, and in which the interior is substantially unaffected thereby. This flufl'y mass heavily charged with macerating fluids passes to the next three-roll mill of the tandem roll, and owing to the lightness and expanded condition of the cane, together with the excess of macerating fluids present, the cane does not readily pass into the bite of the rolls but accumulates, and finally if the grinding speed remains unchanged the second mill becomes choked. The failure of the bagasse mat to pass into the bite of the rolls is brought about in part by the excess of macerating fluids present which render the cane particles slippery.

In the present invention, means is provided for bringing about a more thorough maceration ofthe cane mat than has previously been possible, and in reducing the bulk of the mat prior to its presentation to a succeeding mill, together with the extractionof a certain percentage of the macerating fluids and juices, whereby the mat may readily enter between the rolls of the last named mill.

I prefer to accomplish these results as followsi On either side of conveyor 16,and adjacent the mill 6 are a pair of standards 32 and 33, on which are mounted shaft supporting brackets 34 and 35, having mounted therein rotatable shaft 36. On shaft 36 outwardly from brackets 34 and 35 a pair of arms 37 and 38 are received, shaft 36 being'freely rotatable therein and arms 37 and 38 extending towards mill 7 and having on their outer ends brackets 39 and 49 in which is received shaft 41. Mounted on and secured to shaft 36 are a number of sprockets 42, on which are received an equal number of endless chains 43, which pass around floating drum 44, mounted on shaft 41 and extending from side Wall '17 of conveyor 16 to side wall 18. Attached to chains 43 are a plurality of overlapping slats 45, the chains and slats therein being driven from shaft 36 by suitable means as, for example, sprocket 46, secured on shaft 36 and driven from sprocket 47 on neck 48 'of roll 14 by means of chain 49 which also passes around idler sprocket 50 and 51. It will be noted that the lowest parts of chains 43 and slats 45 move in the same direction and at an acute angle to the upper part of carrier 19, the floating drum 44 being limited inits movement towards carrier 19 by means 'of brackets 52 and 53, which are adjustably supported on Walls 17 and 18 at the bottom of slots 54 and 55, in which the ends of shaft 41 are received. Below the drum 44 and be- ,tween plates 25 and 26 is a roller 56 sup ported on suitable hearings on the conveyor walls.

pressing the blanket of cane after maceration thereof; 7

5. Ina cane mill, means for pressing a cane mat to extract. the juices therefrom, and means acting on the cane mat prior to its presentation to the pre'ssingmeans for forming openings extending through the mat in the direction of movement thereof through which the juices may pass when the mat is acted on by the pressing means.

6. In a cane mill, means for pressing a cane mat to extract the juices therefrom, and means acting on the cane mat prior to its presentation to the pressing means for forming grooves in the vmat through which the juices may pass when the mat is acted'on by the pressing means.

7. In a cane mill, means for pressing a cane mat to extract the juices therefrom, and a plurality of devices extending into the path of the mat of'c-ane as it passes to the pressing means, said devices being adapted to form continuous grooves in the cane mat through which the juices may pass during the pressing operation. v

8. In a cane mill, a pair of cane pressing units arranged in tandem, means for conducting cane from one of said units tothe other, means for applying a macerating fluid to the cane, means for forming a passage extending through the cane blanket from the upper to the lower surfaces thereof, and means for pressing the mat prior to delivery thereof to the succeeding unit, the fluid passing substantially freely through the passage in the blanket duringthe pressing thereof.

9. In a cane mill, a pair of spaced units for acting on a blanket of cane-to express juice therefrom, a conveyor for conducting the blanket of cane from one unit to the other, means for macerating the cane, means coacting with said conveyor for forcing-the macerating fluid through the cane blanket, and means for forming passages extending through the cane blanket from the upper to the lower surfaces thereof prior to the action of the last named means thereon, the fluid passing through said passages during the action of the forcing means.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 4th day of September, 1928.

. BYRON P. LUCE. 

